Cuomo Takes Abortion Stance Favoring Women's Right to Choose

By ELIZABETH KOLBERT, Special to The New York Times

Published: September 11, 1989

TUCSON, Ariz., Sept. 10—
Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, who for years has confounded women's groups by resisting a clear pro-abortion rights stance, stated firmly Saturday night that abortion ''must be a matter of the woman's conscience.''

Abortion advocates in New York said the Governor's remarks were the strongest he has made in favor of a woman's right to have an abortion since he took office. They said they believed the remarks reflected a recognition by the Governor that the political significance of abortion had grown dramatically in the wake of a recent United States Supreme Court decision allowing states to limit access to abortion.

Mr. Cuomo, who made the remarks in response to questions after a speech he made here, also said he thought it was ''presumptuous'' for a man to make judgments about abortion. Anti-Abortion Demonstrators

''I feel absurd,'' he said. ''Like I don't know why the judgment is mine. Or an all-male court, except for one woman, or a mostly male Congress.''

Before the Governor spoke inside, anti-abortion demonstrators outside the Doubletree Hotel carried signs bearing slogans like ''Cuomo - The Enemy of the Unborn.''

Abortion-rights advocates in New York hailed Mr. Cuomo's remarks as a sign that he had finally embraced a firm pro-abortion rights position.

Marilyn Fitterman, president of the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women, said she was ''very happy to see the Governor taking a leadership position.'' Until now, she said, ''many people in the pro-choice community weren't really satisfied with the Governor's position.'' A Matter of Fairness

For the last several years, Mr. Cuomo had refused to respond directly to questions about whether he believed women should have the right to have an abortion. Instead, he referred questioners to a lengthy speech he gave five years ago, in which he said that laws banning abortion would not work.

Mr. Cuomo has consistently supported Medicaid financing of abortions, and New York is one of only about a dozen states with government financing for poor women seeking abortions. But the Governor has advocated Medicaid financing not as a matter of a woman's right to abortion, but as a matter of fairness, saying that as long as abortion is legal, poor women should have the same access as wealthier ones.

But after the United States Supreme Court ruled in July that states could limit women's access to abortion, Mr. Cuomo came under increasing pressure to clarify his position. The Governor then said he would reject limitations on abortions like those sanctioned by the Supreme Court. Yet he still refused to answer questions about whether he thought the landmark court decision that established a woman's right to an abortion, Roe v. Wade, should be upheld.

The decision has come under attack from anti-abortion groups in recent years, and the Supreme Court is scheduled to consider cases in its upcoming session that could modify or even overturn the 1973 ruling. Pressure on Cuomo

Abortion-rights advocates said today that they believed that the movement by the Court to limit access to abortion, and the increasingly well-organized efforts of women's groups to counter this trend, had put pressure on Mr. Cuomo and other politicians to take a firm stand on abortion. Recent polls have consistently shown that the majority of New Yorkers favor a woman's right to have an abortion.

''I think we're going to find many politicians realizing they have to take a stand,'' Ms. Fitterman said. ''There's no more hiding behind the law.''

Opponents of abortion also said Mr. Cuomo was under increasing pressure to take a strong stand in favor of the right to an abortion. State Senator James Donovan, a Republican from Chadwicks and the State Senate's chief opponent of abortion, said, ''If he wants to go anywhere in the Democratic Party, he'd better be pro-abortion.''

Mr. Donovan criticized Mr. Cuomo's characterization of abortion as an issue of a woman's conscience, saying, ''Obviously it's a matter of a mother's conscience, but that doesn't make it right.''